My experience of Tortoise up until last week came from hearing them occasionally appear on my 'Mogwai Radio' playlists as I listened to Lastfm. On these occassions I would always make mental notes to pick up various Tortoise albums on my next monthly visit to the record store. Then the next time it came to checking my bank balance and making the decision that I could probably afford to part with enough money for one CD this month, I would have temporarily forgotten of their existence.

Crunch time arrived one evening last week when I heard mention of a new Tortoise track whilst listening to 6 music. As I was munching on my salad, thinking about this giant tortoise I saw struggling to get to grips with a lettuce in Paris zoo some time ago, my ears started to prick up something special to the tune of Prepare Your Coffin, second track on Beacons of Ancestorship. It was one of the most refreshing things I'd heared played on the radio in a while. So I decided that I really ought to do something about obtaining this new Tortoise album. And I did.

BOA is full of enticing rhythyms played out with thick bassy synths and clever drum work. The increased inclusion of synths over guitar lines is (apparently) a significant change from previous TRTS albums and the layers of synth and guitar lines squeeze together very comfortably on most tracks to produce a really slick tone to the lead melodies that I really like. There is quite a variation of styles from track to track, moving from wig out post-rock to introverted rhythmic experimentation, Prepare Your Coffin and final track Charteroak Foundation probably being the most bodily engaging tracks for me.

One thing that probably separates a good band from a great band is the ability to continue roping in new audiences with each new release, even when they're 15/20 years down the line. Tortoise could have settled lazily into the sounds of their early albums and continued to churn records out thick and fast for a committed fanbase that would have bought them. Perhaps then I would never have gotten round to shelling out for various albums from their back catalogue. But they didn't because they are an experimental band. They've taken their time to come up with something new and exciting and considered. Because of this they get a play on an early evening radio show and people like me hear it and finally become properly acquainted with their music... So what's the moral of the story?